Was an Independent, Do It Yourself Blog dedicated to Icelandic music by music slut Wim Van Hooste

Was an Independent, Do It Yourself Blog dedicated to Icelandic music by music slutWim Van HoosteMoved back to I love Icelandic music & started new blog Icelandic Music MobThe Enfant Terrible of the Icelandic Music Scene - Crapule de Luxe IslandaiseThe Mob and I love Icelandic music

April 11, 2011

Song of the 210. Week is Sudden Weather Change's "A smoke trail in the sky"

210. Song of the Week is a song taken from the "Varrior" EP by Sudden Weather Change: "A smoke trail in the sky". Released on Kimi Records as a 10" vinyl in February 2011.

More information about this EP:This text was not written by a member of Sudden Weather Change, but an inseparable “sixth” member of the group who put together parts of conversations that went in and out of context. These mood-driven, half forgotten parts have later been used to create something more wholesome which is best described in a sort of puzzle.
"Let me introduce you Sudden Weather Change and their new record. This record wont make the band, or any member of the band famous. Its not going to make anyone rich or for that matter return any profit for anyone, either. The album you hold in your hand is one of the few, and it probably wont appear in physical form outside of the bands originating home, Iceland.
There really aren’t any “number 1's” on the album and I predict it will get little, if any radio-play, and if I know the relationship between the band and media, it wont get much coverage. I'm sad to be the one telling you this, but you are not reading this text at your home, next to a christmas tree, because the album arrived in a limbo-esque place between christmas and christmas.
To make hits, get advertised or being played on the radio was never this records goals, or even destiny for that matter. It is a great record, I can tell you because I've heard it. I am still deeply convinced about all these negative things I've said about it before – despite all that, the album is fantastic. Despite other things, like the fact that Sudden Weather Change will never even fill up Iceland's best concert hall, Laugardalshöll, they’re awareness of it and ambition has never been more than now.
All of the members of the group are artists. They’ve either graduated as such, or found themselves studying an art form or another. The creation and process behind is what "Varrior" is about – the curiosity to try new things and pushing the limits of songwriting and personal soundscape is more what the record is about. Lately, the members of the band have found themselves trying new things and opening they´re arms to collaborations and new ideas. Both to conquer they're previous activities as well as gaining experience from it. The Saan Rail is a song they wrote with one of Icelands brightest new bands, Nolo, and sometime in the future, the band will release a split with their friends, Reykjavík! where the bands make cover songs of each other. An example of the charity or givingness Sudden Weather Change bring with them is found at the Iceland Airwaves festival in 2010; instead of playing the old set for people who already know the band all too well, they took a certain challenge and made they're own versions of 6 songs by local legends Ghostigital, at an evening they curated in a nice old theatre venue. As I said before, Sudden Weather Change do everything to gain new experiences as a group.
With this record, the band decided to collect some of Icelands most promising and ambitious young artists to make the album happen. They took in two modern composers who had recently graduated from the Icelandic Art Acadamy's music department, Þorbjörn G. Kolbrúnarsson (Thobbi) and Þórður Hermansson (Doddi). Together they helped composing and arranging songs with the band as well as taking theyre sound to a new level. That level was then pushed to its outer limits when sound artist Ben Frost took the job of recording the outcome. Everyone was on the same level, and the collaboration was great, without further words describing it.
One of the new elements the band brings in with this record, along with making better songs and having a more personal sound, are the lyrics. It is safe to say that the lyrics are more carefully crafted than before, they do not have any resemblance to found words on the internet or television programs, and the sentence “great selection of words”, does not count in this case.
There is always a certain joy among members of the band, but the pressure is not far from it. Being chosen the most promising band at 2009's Icelandic music awards as well as in Morgunblaðið was most certainly an honor, but the pressure was on the always uprising name and they knew they had to make something good out of it. This was in 2009, right after the debut LP “Stop! Handgrenade in the name of crib death, ´nderstand?” was released. After they're accomplishments earlier that year, the band could'nt seem to write a single note, even 8 months after the 13-track release. The reasons were simple; (1) despite success, the group didn't want to enter a spiral of repetitiveness and (2) they knew they could do better than before.
When releasing an album like this one and continuing to make material of well crafted excellent is part of the bands standards to not disappoint. Furthermore, it is of the bands interest to feel more confident and secure in the studio space. Because, despite all awards and appreciation from previous works, the band never wants to hesitate or stop experimenting with new sounds and approaches without losing the bands high-quality mark. Forever pushing limits inside the band as well as the listeners.
However, being a band in Iceland is like having a job you pay for doing. There are almost no paychecks and the job seems to be some sort of luxury part-time job you pay yourself for. There are tons of concerts every month, week, days and bands rarely get paid, except the one or two beers you get if you're in luck and the venue happens to include a bar. Just as natural as concerts come, you must have in mind that music-life has a way of taking a toll out of your wallet. Bandmembers spend they're money on rent, amplifiers, strings, instruments, drumsticks, and everything necessary to continue on what they like best. The best thing about being in a creative commune, however, is creating something like Varrior. The final outcome, which is perfectly visible to you, is made by a group who like making music just as much as you like listening to it. It becomes a gift for two individuals, something you can give to make your heart and soul more physical, in a way.
The achieved goal of this record is to release something of fineness, something to keep next to the other records in shelves. This record is for everyone who wants something more physical from a hard working band, and therefore, become part of the band. I deeply hope this record helps you get more involved in the story and progress of the band Sudden Weather Change and hopefully it will become and belong to some specific time of your life, at least having a respectable place in your record collection."